Julia Louis-Dreyfus to Be Awarded Mark Twain Prize for Humor

Selina Meyer may be making another ill-fated run for president and struggling for affection from her peers, as “Veep” gears up for its final season, but the woman who has uproariously brought Selina to life, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, is about to take home a guaranteed win: She is this year’s recipient of the annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

“Like Mark Twain, Julia has enriched American culture with her iconic, unforgettable, and outright hilarious brand of humor,” Deborah F. Rutter, the president of the Kennedy Center, said in a statement. “Over four decades, her wildly original characters and her gift for physical comedy have left us in stitches.”

Ms. Louis-Dreyfus’s biting sarcasm, honed as one of the stars of “Seinfeld” along with memorable stints on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Arrested Development,” “Saturday Night Live” and many other shows, carried over into her statement responding to the news.

“Merely to join the list of distinguished recipients of this award would be honor enough, but, as a student of both American history and literature, the fact that Mr. Twain himself will be presenting the award to me in person is particularly gratifying,” Ms. Louis-Dreyfus, 57, said.

Past winners of the award include Richard Pryor, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Lily Tomlin and Eddie Murphy. Bill Cosby was given the award in 2009, but this month, in a first, the Kennedy Center rescinded it after Mr. Cosby was convicted of sexual assault.

Ms. Louis-Dreyfus will receive the award on Oct. 21 in a ceremony in Washington.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page C3 of the New York edition with the headline: Julia Louis-Dreyfus Wins Mark Twain Prize. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe